Ciena Corporation $CIEN Shares Bought by Geode Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management LLC increased its Ciena stake by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, ending with 2.69 million shares valued at about $627.6 million, or roughly 1.91% of the company.
• Ciena reported strong quarterly results, posting $1.35 EPS and $1.43 billion in revenue, both ahead of estimates; revenue rose 33.1% year over year.
• Despite insider selling in recent months, Wall Street remains constructive on the stock, with multiple analysts raising price targets and the consensus rating at “Moderate Buy.”

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN - Free Report) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,687,437 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 145,948 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 1.91% of Ciena worth $627,567,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Ciena during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Ciena by 50.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 200 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Ciena by 104.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 204 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ciena during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ciena by 42.5% during the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 312 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.99% of the company's stock.

Ciena Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of CIEN stock opened at $580.59 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average is $500.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $341.74. Ciena Corporation has a twelve month low of $70.77 and a twelve month high of $605.61. The company has a market capitalization of $82.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 369.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.18. Ciena had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 4.47%.The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.64 EPS. The company's revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Ciena Corporation will post 5.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ciena

In other Ciena news, CEO Gary B. Smith sold 2,952 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.51, for a total value of $1,226,585.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 281,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $116,909,971.15. This trade represents a 1.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Jason Phipps sold 22,014 shares of Ciena stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.80, for a total value of $9,021,337.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 68 shares in the company, valued at $27,866.40. This trade represents a 99.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 44,174 shares of company stock worth $18,878,661. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CIEN shares. Bank of America raised their target price on Ciena from $550.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Ciena from $425.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings raised Ciena from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Ciena from $380.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Ciena from $230.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $406.61.

About Ciena

Ciena Corporation NYSE: CIEN is a global supplier of telecommunications networking equipment, software and services. The company develops high-capacity optical transport systems and packet-optical platforms that enable service providers, cloud operators and large enterprises to build, manage and scale their networks. Ciena's product portfolio includes coherent optical solutions, packet networking platforms and a suite of network automation software designed to optimize bandwidth, reduce latency and simplify network operations.

In addition to hardware offerings, Ciena provides professional services and support, including network design, implementation and ongoing maintenance.

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